Egyptian, American and Israeli sources revealed on Friday evening that a four-party meeting, in which Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel will participate, will be held next Sunday in the Italian capital, Rome, to discuss reaching a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Qahirah News Channel quoted a source it described as "high-level" without revealing his identity, saying: "A four-way meeting will be held in Rome next Sunday between Egyptian officials and their American and Qatari counterparts, in the presence of the head of Israeli intelligence (David Barnea)."
The source explained that "the Rome meeting comes within the framework of the mediators' continued efforts to reach a truce agreement in Gaza," adding that "the Egyptian security delegation will discuss developments in the truce negotiations in Gaza," noting that "Egypt confirmed its adherence to the necessity of reaching a formula that calls for an immediate ceasefire, guaranteeing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of citizens in Gaza, and a complete withdrawal from the Rafah crossing."
In the same context, the American website "Axios" quoted American and Israeli officials on Friday as saying that the Rome meeting will also be attended by the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency, Bill Burns, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel.
A source familiar with the matter said, according to Axios, that the truce negotiations and prisoner exchange are not expected to be discussed in detail during the meeting, explaining that the meeting will focus on the future strategy for the negotiations.
For months, mediation efforts led by Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza that would include a prisoner exchange from both sides, and a ceasefire that would guarantee the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Strip. However, the mediation efforts have been hampered by Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to respond to Hamas’s demands to stop the war.
Speaking about the Rome meeting, Netanyahu said during his meeting with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the US state of Florida earlier on Friday: "Only time will tell if we are close to concluding a deal," according to the private Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war with American support on Gaza, leaving more than 129,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.